Over 150,000 passengers affected by Air France strike

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Strikes by Air France flight attendants in the last five days have led to 900 flights being cancelled and over 150,000 passengers affected through Sunday.

The week-long strike is expected to last until Tuesday evening.

On Monday, the French airliner expects 20 per cent of medium-haul flights to and from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris to be affected, but said it will operate more than 95 per cent of long-haul flights.

The call to strike by the two leading Air France unions was issued for July 27 to August 2 and seeks the extension of a labour contract on rules, pay and promotions that runs out at the end of October.

Management wants to limit the extension of the agreement to 17 months, while unions are asking for between three and five years.

Talks are at an impasse, union leader Christelle Auster said Sunday, threatening a new strike following the current action, which ends Tuesday.

The strike came at the height of the holiday travel period. Millions of people are returning home from their July holidays this weekend as millions more set off for an August break, causing long tailbacks on the roads and frenetic scenes at rail stations and airports.

Air France pilots went on strike in June, during the first days of the Euro 2016 football tournament, which, according to the company's estimates, cost the firm $44.6m.